About Jue Ann Lee

  

  

Jue Ann Lee 2023

Hi,

My name is Jue Ann Lee.


I am the owner and driving force behind this site, NovOWLs.com.

I intend NovOWLs.com to become a comprehensive and holistic resource for organic SF&F novel writers like me.  -- Writers who value the craft of novel writing as an art form and as a means of communication, above of the money and prestige of making it big.


Who am I to offer writing wisdom?

The popular opinion seems to be that you can't make a business of teaching writing unless you're a traditionally published author yourself, preferably a famous, many-times-over published author.

I am not one. I am a hobby writer with little interest in publishing at all, let alone trying to become a famous, many-times-over published author.


But I do have some experience.


I've been writing fantasy and science fiction book length stories practically since I learned my letters.

I've written millions of words, and accumulated decades of learning and experience as a highly organic SF&F novel writer.

I've also casually pursued self-development work all my life, continuing an example my parents set for me from a very young age.

My self-development work has shown me that I have a great deal of value to offer -- value that other organic writers need.


I have the passion and gumption to offer what I know to you.


Why Jue Ann Lee is not a household author name

I have thought about publishing...  After all, who wouldn't be tempted by the money and recognition and glamour?

I've studied what it takes to get published, even at a modest mid-list level, let alone becoming a famous, many-times-over published author.

  • Getting an agent -- almost no one will look at your work without one.
  • Writing a good query letter and synopsis -- It's as important as writing a perfect cover letter and resume to land a professional interview.
  • Dealing with rejections -- they are common as dirt, but even one can be devastating.
  • Working with your agent, editor, and others to rebuild your story into a salable book -- your original awesome version must get hammered into something commercially viable instead.
  • Understanding and negotiating contracts -- the legal side is not optional, and not simple.
  • Promotion -- these days, the publisher will leave nearly all advertising, book tours, readings, and so on, in your own hands. Even after hiring a publicist, you still have to travel to event after event to drum up reader interest.
  • The sheer time the process takes -- from acceptance to the first bookstore sale can easily take two years. And that's after the unmeasurable wait just to see if any publisher wants to bother.

Supply and demand in the traditional publishing market is extremely lopsided. If you don't have exactly what they want, or you can't sell it to them exactly the way they want to be sold to, they will simply ignore you in favor of the next prospect on their very long list of other hopeful authors.

The self publishing market isn't any better. The gatekeepers (agents and editors) aren't there, but that means you miss out on the benefits of their deep experience, brand power, financial power, bookstore contacts, and much more.

Either way, you have to hand sell to individual readers -- readers who can be just as choosy because they still have the huge upper hand between supply and demand.


I studied all of that.

And learned that I'm not interested in doing what it takes to get published, what it takes to become famous, what it takes to deal with the social rigmarole that comes with it all.

For me, as a reclusive INFP personality, dealing with all that looks like an endless nightmare.


That's not true for most writers

Most writers want to share their stories with others -- which makes publishing an important part of their writing journey.

It makes the challenge of breaking into the publishing world and making names for themselves worth every effort, every encounter, every rejection slip.

It makes interacting with everyone from editors, to publicists, to bookstore managers, to fans interesting, enticing, and rewarding.


The writer I am instead

I am a hobby writer. I have always written for my own enjoyment first, and for the things I get directly from writing.


I enjoy the sheer work of novel writing.

I love watching the story unfold, as mesmerized by my own work as by reading a great book, or watching a great movie.

I become engrossed in the challenge of getting all the details to work together and create a whole story, and the accomplishment of success.

I love learning new techniques, solving all the endless problems of building a complex novel, and exploring the world, the characters, and the plot at the same time.

I thrill at watching how the patterns and themes of my stories unfold and resonate with who I am, teaching me about myself, about what I believe, about what matters to me. And about all the why's behind all of it.

I enjoy doing it all without the stress of working against a deadline, worrying if my story is any good, wondering if I can make any money off it.


My continuing self-development work has shown me I don't need to win the publishing rat race to be the writer I want to be.

I've learned that being "just a hobby writer" is exactly the life I want to live. It's exactly the kind of writer I therefore should be.


Who I am to you

But my self-development work has also shown me that helping others is one of my core values.

I'm good at solving problems -- and helping solve real problems that real people actually have lights me up inside.


NovOWLs gives me a way to offer my help to the people I care about most: You -- the organic writers who are searching for the same answers I've already learned during a lifetime of living as an organic writing.


So, while you might never find a hardback with "Jue Ann Lee" writ large on the cover at the front of a bookstore, you can take advantage of my lifetime of organic writing experience to create fantastic novels with your own name gracing their covers.

Novels that you can then promote to the front of that bookstore for your own purposes. If you wish.


Following me

I've found happiness with who and what I am as a writer.

You can too.

Your journey won't be exactly the same one I'm taking, but I have the life long self-improvement background, and the lifelong organic writing experience, to support you -- no matter where your journey to peace and prosperity as an organic writer takes you.